How did Travis Outlaw become a clutch player?

[Optimus_Steel]

I seen this guy several times this season hit big shots to end quarters or end games. He has hit several game winners already or shoots that send the game to overtime. He has the lenght and athletecism to shoot over people so that makes him effective late in games but how did he all the sudden get the mentality to make those shoots? His first few years in the league he looked like he might washout or was simply gonna be a unskilled but athletic bench player. Im just surprised he has developed the mentality to make those high pressure shoots. How did that happen? And do you guys expect that to continue?

[Griever24]

I dont know how he became so clutch but man is it great to have those type of players on your team.

it could continue to happen but you guys shouldnt rely on him every time

teams know now so he should play more of decoy and get Roy some gw's lol .. im curious to see if hes clutch when it comes to that last shot

[hermes]

practice

[Milkdud]

The thing with Travis is while he isn't the most versatile scorer he has acouple shots that he feels really comfortable shooting. That shot to win the game last night is his bread and butter move.

[doogul]

I dont know how he became so clutch but man is it great to have those type of players on your team.

it could continue to happen but you guys shouldnt rely on him every time

teams know now so he should play more of decoy and get Roy some gw's lol .. im curious to see if hes clutch when it comes to that last shot

Oh believe me, Roy's already made his fair share of clutch shots, dating back to last season We Blazer fans already know what he can do.

As for Travis, in my opinion the turning point was when he hit the game winner in Memphis in front of his family. The play wasn't designed for him. The only reason he even got the shot was because Memphis played good defense and prevented Roy from getting the ball. Ever since he hit that shot, he has been almost automatic in the 4th quarter. It just boosted his confidence big time. Other than that, I think we're seeing the product of Travis working hard to learn the game and patience on the part of the Blazers coaching staff and front office. The same patience they failed to have when they traded Jermaine O'Neal for Dale Davis.

[AWalkerREMIX]

It's a mindset. You don't have to have tons of big game experience to be clutch. There are lots of unknown clutch players...like Delonte West for example. There are also a lot of well known players who completely falter when the game is on the line. It has nothing to do with basketball and everything to do with confidence.

[Bobbcats]

why are you giving credit to a blazer whos not roy?
he makes his teammates clutch

[RockTHECasbah]

He's the Alvin Williams of the Blazers

[SabasRevenge!]

Travis has shown great flashes of putting it together for the past couple of years, but he's really got it going this year. I used to almost cringe when he had the ball in his hands and hope for the best. He would jack up a shot from anywhere - and he still will - but he's a unique player in that he can get his shot off over anyone.

Over and over again I saw him take shots that looked like bad shots: just inside the three point line, an almost blind turnaround with a guy in his face. Then he started hitting those shots with a great deal of regularity. It's a unique experience watching him because he's forced me to change what I view as a good shot for him. That shot last night against Atlanta looked like a VERY low percentage shot; Travis pulls up from 20 feet with Josh Smith in his face. And he nailed it!

[AWalkerREMIX]

why are you giving credit to a blazer whos not roy?
he makes his teammates clutch

How does that make any sense?

[UGA Hayes]

I saw the entire Atlanta-Portland game. He was awesome the wwhole game. Definitely buy stock in Outlaw. I had been wanting my team, Boston, to trade for him for a while when he was just showing frustrating flashes.

[DASMACKDOWN]

I hope Tyrus Thomas can be like Outlaw oneday.

[MaxRider]

after i proposed to sign him with the full MLE

[Papercut]

Two things:

Ability to get his jump shot off no matter who defends him
+
Confidence that comes from knowing he can get that shot off

That's pretty much it. He worked and worked and worked, and finally developed a reliable stroke on his jump shot. Now with his height, length, and jumping ability, it's become an unguardable shot that he can go to whenever the team needs a bucket.

[Jack wore plaid]

Travis like most of the Blazers is one of the hardest working players in the league. (pretty much the entire team came in a month before training camp to practice). Travis has spent hours upon hours with assistant coach Monte Williams to fine tune his game.

[Ballings7]

Working on his game, gaining confidence, and getting the oppurtunities.

Outlaw's an above-average player.

[NetsForce]

The opposing team's best defender never guards him and opposing teams still want him to stand around and shoot jumpers.

The problem that other teams have yet to recognize though is that Outlaw has significantly improved his jumper and has done a good job of taking advantage of the loose perimeter defense on him...

The simple solution is just play Outlaw tighter, force him to put the ball on the floor, and just LOL when he turns the ball over.

I really hate always having to be the bringer of reality to these boards but Travis Outlaw's "clutchness" is overblown, and realistically speaking he wouldn't be the go-to guy on any team expecting to make noise in the playoffs.

He's a good 2nd or 3rd option in the clutch and he's an excellent guy to set up around the basket for an easy finish but it's not like he's one of the most clutch players in the league...

[Milkdud]

I have no idea how Outlaw's "clutchness" is overblown. This is the first thread ive even see reguarding it, there hasnt ever been a thread about it on the blazers board. And your brillent plan of guarding outlaw closer really doesnt work. Outlaw has a great verticle, long arms and tends to fade with his shot. He still is gonna elevate over most defenders and has shown the ability to hit that top of the key shot reguardless of how close his defender is to him. Outlaw is far from a complete player, in fact as a blazer fan I see how very limited he is but the one thing for sure he can do his hit that 2 step in jumper like 90% of the damn time.

[NetsForce]

All I'm getting at is that there are a number of other players who are just as clutch as Outlaw and they don't get their own thread =[

Also I'm not sure how you could argue playing Outlaw closer wouldn't make things more difficult for him, sure he has GREAT ups and he's a pretty lengthy player but there are a ton of players in the NBA with great ups, and length who don't always succeed in the clutch.

Teams haven't adjusted to Outlaw's new jumper and like I said before, to his credit he's making them pay the price. Props to him, but every year there are a handful of players who hit some game winners here and there and get this "clutch" label when it's not really something they deserve.

[Bustabucket]

All I'm getting at is that there are a number of other players who are just as clutch as Outlaw and they don't get their own thread =[

Also I'm not sure how you could argue playing Outlaw closer wouldn't make things more difficult for him, sure he has GREAT ups and he's a pretty lengthy player but there are a ton of players in the NBA with great ups, and length who don't always succeed in the clutch.

Teams haven't adjusted to Outlaw's new jumper and like I said before, to his credit he's making them pay the price. Props to him, but every year there are a handful of players who hit some game winners here and there and get this "clutch" label when it's not really something they deserve.

What would stop him from going around them if he was played closer?